1. Electors do not have to actively
register to vote
Taiwan has a
comprehensive household registration system. The compilation of the voter list/electoral
register is handled by the Household Registration Offices 20 days prior to the
Election Day. Hence, citizens do not have to actively register to vote, with
the exception of citizens residing overseas during the Presidential and Vice
Presidential election.
2.
Electronic
voting not implemented
In all types of elections, the electors shall mark their
paper ballots using the marking tool provided by the Election Commissions.
Electronic voting has not yet been implemented in Taiwan.
3.
Absentee
Voting not implemented
Electors
must vote in person at their city or county of residence’s polling booth on
Election Day. Absentee voting is not implemented in Taiwan.
4.
The Protection
of Political Participation Rights for Indigenes and Women
(1)
In order to ensure the political
participation rights of indigenes and women, a minimum number of representative
seats in the legislative body are reserved for both of these groups.
(2)
For instance, in the
legislator-at-large elections for the Legislative Yuan, at least half of each
party's elected candidates must be female. In elections for local
representative bodies, out of every four elected officials in each electoral
district, at least one must be female.
5.
Services
provided for people with disabilities and immigrants
(1) In order to ensure full accessibility of elections
for people with disabilities, the election commissions not only provide audio
electoral bulletins, sign language interpretations, and ballot slip covers with
Braille printing in polling booths, but also ensure that the booths are
wheelchair accessible. If an elector cannot vote due to disability, then a
family member or polling administrator may accompany him/her upon request and
provide the assistance needed.
(2) On the other hand, in order to facilitate the
familiarization of immigrants with the voting process, the election commissions
have provided voting guides in different languages, set up a designated area
for immigrants on the Central Election Commission (CEC) website, and conducted
election simulations for immigrants.
6.
A
Transparent Polling and Vote Counting Process
(1)Polling
Polling starts at 8 a.m. and closes at 4
p.m. on Election Day. Voters collect their paper ballots, which are colored
according to the election types, mark their votes in polling booths, and
deposit them into ballot boxes.
(2)Vote Counting
A. After the poll closes, all polling stations
are rearranged for vote counting. To get a vote count, station staffs are
required to take each ballot out of the box one by one consecutively, read the
vote out loud, and display it to the attending public witnesses. Seats for the
witnesses must also be se t up accordingly.
B. After the counting at stations is
completed, managers compile a written report of the results and post the report
on the bulletin board outside the station and then designate a courier to
deliver the station results to the township (city or district) electoral
operation centers, so the results can be entered into a centralized computing system.
7.
An
Efficient and Convenient Polling Tabulation System
After the township (city or district) electoral operation centers receive
the vote results from the polling stations, the data will be entered into a
centralized computing system for compilation and for result updates. The
Counting and Information Center for Election provides the real time election
results to the public. One could check up-to-date polling counts through the CEC's
website on Election Day, regardless of one's current location. The final
results are usually available within the same day of the election.